Anti-Chinese sentiments seem to be running high in India, following the June 15 clash between army men from both sides, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead, and scores of others, injured.

A recent survey among 32,000 respondents across 235 districts, found that 87% of the respondents are ready to boycott Chinese made products for the next one year.

There are also protests urging for the boycott of Chinese goods raging on Indian streets, and some "angry" people are even resorting to filming themselves breaking or burning their fully functionial Chinese appliances, such as TVs, and posting the act on social media, to show their dissatisfaction.

A minister has taken a step further and called for the boycott of Chinese restaurants, despite such outlets employing Indians and using Indian agricultural produce.

Indian news outlets have detailed why a Chinese-product boycott, would hurt India more than it would, China.

China is India's second-largest trade partner

China's with India accounts to 10.6% out of the latter's trade. India, however, accounts to only 2.1% of Chinese trade - placing at a meagre 12th place. According to 2018 data, 15.3% of India's import are from China, while only about 5.1% of Indian products get sent to China.

If China reciprocated in kind in enforcing a boycott, it would badly hit India in its pockets while India's protest move would hardly cause a dent in China's coffers, numbers show.

India could lose much-needed Chinese investments

Chinese investment in India has steadily increased over the past years. Telecommunication giants such as Huawei and Xiaomi particularly have large projects currently operating from India. Other Chinese-backed businesses like ZTE and Vivo also have sizeable presence in India.

More Indians visit China

According to recent data, more Indians visit China, than the Chinese visit India. A 2016 data shows that 800,000 Indians visited China, while statistics from 2017 state that only 250,000 Chinese have visited India.

Indians may end up paying more as a result

If the boycott happens, Indian consumers will end up paying more for their products, such as smartphones, TVs and even cars. This is because the majority of components for such products are supplied from China.

Thus, doing away with Chinese component products will force vendors to source more expensive alternatives, and at the end of the day, consumers would have to fork out more to get their products.

Doing these when India's economy is already badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, would be a badly timed move, the articles said, quoting analysts and experts.

Given these facts, the experts said it would be a wise move for Indian leaders to not turn a military skirmish into a trade war, which would end up hurting India more, in the long run.


Source: Times of India, financialexpress.com, indianexpress.com
Photo source: indianexpress.com